Russia Begins Deployment of Aerospace Defenses in Arctic

Russia has started the deployment of aerospace defense units in the Arctic and construction of an early missile warning radar in the country’s extreme north, the commander of Aerospace Defense Forces said Thursday.

“The expansion of [missile early warning] radar coverage is one of the key areas of our work, especially when it comes to [Russia’s] extreme north – we have already started the deployment of electronic warfare units in the Arctic,” Maj. Gen. Alexander Golovko said.

Golovko also said construction of an advanced early missile warning radar site has started near the town of Vorkuta, situated just north of the Arctic Circle.

Russia is planning to complete its comprehensive missile early warning network by 2018. Four Voronezh-class radar stations that can easily be relocated are already part of this network.